Free-to-play coming Nov. 15 to ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’

As we mentioned yesterday, Bioware’s getting ready to launch their free-to-play “option” for Star Wars: The Old Republic later this month. Today, the company set a firm date for that switch to happen.

On Nov. 15, people will have the option to download and play SWTOR entirely for free, with certain content restrictions coming into effect at level 50. Free players will also be somewhat limited in what races they can pick for their classes, and face a few other limitations Bioware has spelled out on their website. Players who chose to pay the $15 a month subscription will play with no restrictions, and get bonus Cartel Coins to spend.

In addition the new Cartel Coins market, Bioware’s cash shop, will go live on the same date. Players will receive complimentary coins if they’ve previously purchased or subscribed to SWTOR, and Bioware is also offering some bonus coins if lapsed players re-up their subscriptions before the free-to-play launch, as well as before Dec. 20.

So do any of you lapsed SWTOR players plan on jumping back in because it’ll be free to play? I know I plan on doing so, just to finish all the eight class stories, and see if any of the tweaks Bioware has made in the year since the game launched have improved the experience. Leave your comments below, and if you do plan on getting back into the game read up on all the free-to-play resources Bioware has posted on the SWTOR website.

By day, Russell works in local TV news. By night, he plays and writes about video games for VGW and his personal blog, The Gentleman Gamer. An avid RPG fan, Russell can also be found plotting the demise of adventurers from behind a Dungeon Master's screen. He can be heard weekly on the "Geek In Review" podcast (GiRPodcast.podomatic.com).